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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26863612">haus 3.0</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/justwhatialwayswanted/pseuds/birlcholtz'>birlcholtz (justwhatialwayswanted)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Check Please! (Webcomic)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Graduation, omgcp friendship 2020</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 18:20:44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>879</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26863612</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/justwhatialwayswanted/pseuds/birlcholtz</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Graduation, like everything that's happened in Chowder's senior year, is bittersweet.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Chris "Chowder" Chow &amp; Derek "Nursey" Nurse &amp; William "Dex" Poindexter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>37</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>haus 3.0</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Graduation, like everything that's happened in Chowder's senior year, is bittersweet. He, Nursey, and Dex are graduating, which means there won't be a single person on the team who was on it when Chowder was a freshman.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Things aren't as bad as they could be. Some things are great! He starts training with the Sharks towards the end of this summer, which is straight-up a dream come true, and Chowder might already be counting down the days.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There's a whole summer until then of being a college graduate with nothing to do.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At least he'll have Dex, who snagged a software engineer position in Mountain View that doesn't start until mid-July. They're sharing a three-bedroom house in the area—expensive, for sure, but somehow they can afford it with both of their incomes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The third bedroom. Well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It's 'for guests,' but hopefully it's for Nursey. He's taking a gap year before 'grad school, teaching certificate, I dunno, I'll pick something' and being annoyingly opaque about how he's going to spend it. It weighs on Chowder a bit that he didn't jump at the chance to keep living together after college, when Chowder and Dex suggested it. Chowder hasn't talked about it with Dex, but he knows it bothers him too. And it's not like Nursey to be so... secretive.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But it's graduation, and if Chowder gets bogged down in worrying about Nursey, then he's not going to be able to keep it together for the whole day. At least for the next two weeks, he knows Nursey's going home to NYC. He'll figure something out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So Chowder smiles for the camera, arm around Nursey's shoulder, avoiding the urge to flick Dex in the head (he's on Nursey's other side, </span>
  <em>
    <span>right there,</span>
  </em>
  <span> it would be so easy—but no). Jack's taking the pictures, of course—he had almost gotten into a very polite fight over it with Dex's dad, who wasn't entirely sure why this alum was insisting on it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They're standing so close together that when Nursey's phone rings, he jumps so hard that Chowder and Dex both feel it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nursey digs his phone out and darts away, tossing a "Sorry, I gotta take this" over his shoulder. Chowder and Dex trade confused looks, and Bitty, standing with Jack, raises his eyebrows.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>On a hunch, Chowder looks over at the Nurses. They're watching their son with expressions that can only be described as nervous anticipation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chowder doesn't even know what the call is about, but suddenly he's nervous too.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nursey's standing just out of earshot, but he must feel everyone's eyes on him as he says something, listens to the person on the other end, and then starts to grin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suddenly, Chowder is even </span>
  <em>
    <span>more</span>
  </em>
  <span> nervous. And that's how he stays through the whole phone call, as Nursey and the person on the phone talk and Nursey's parents smile and relax.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finally, </span>
  <em>
    <span>finally,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Nursey ends the call and puts his phone back in his pocket, and then he </span>
  <em>
    <span>runs</span>
  </em>
  <span> over to Chowder and Dex, almost tripping over nothing, but catching himself at the last moment and hurtling forward on his momentum until he stops right in front of them and says, grinning, "A publisher wants my book!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Your </span>
  <em>
    <span>what?"</span>
  </em>
  <span> Dex says.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The words tumble out of Nursey's mouth. "I submitted a collection of poems to a bunch of publishers a few months ago, you know, because why not, and then it turned into this whole huge thing, and some of them said no but I've been waiting on a couple more to respond, and they want to publish it. Like, for </span>
  <em>
    <span>money."</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>"Wow! Nursey, that's </span>
  <em>
    <span>'swawesome!"</span>
  </em>
  <span> Chowder says. And everything falls into place. "So that's why you weren't telling us anything?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nursey shrugs and starts to recover some of his chill. "I felt like saying something would jinx it. I only told my parents."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"So you're going to be a published author," Dex says like it's the bald truth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Which it is.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The grin creeps back onto Nursey's face. "Fuck yeah, I am."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Wow," Chowder repeats. "That's so great!" They've all gotten what they wanted, at least when it comes to careers. It's not quite everything, but it's enough.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Wait, there's one more thing," Nursey says, a bit more hesitantly. "So this publisher's in San Francisco. And I can do pretty much everything remotely, but it would be convenient to be in the area, just in case I ever need to meet with my editor in person."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Is that your way of asking if your room's still available?" Chowder says.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"We got a three-bedroom for a reason," Dex adds.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nursey smiles. "Haus 3.0."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Haus 3.0," Chowder agrees. "Do you think we could commission Lardo to paint us a giant frog for the entryway?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I think we're morally obligated to do so now that you've mentioned it," Nursey says, and Dex sighs, but he can't quite stop himself from laughing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Haus 3.0.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It's still bittersweet to be leaving Samwell behind, and most of the other alums live in New England. But the three of them will have each other. And they'll possibly have a giant frog painting that may or may not actually resemble a frog, depending on Lardo's artistic vision.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It sounds pretty 'swawesome.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
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